Rotary suspension rack



Feb. 23, 1960 A. L. WEITERMANN 2,925,915

ROTARY SUSPENSION RACK Filed July 15, 1959 ii INVENTOR 33 ALLEN L. WEITERMANN ATTORNEYS United States Patent ROTARY SUSPENSION RACK Allen L. Weitermann, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application July 13, 1959, Serial No. 826,645

7 Claims. (Cl. 211 66) This invention appertains to improvements in implement holders and, more particularly, to a new and novel supporting rack for holdinga plurality of brooms, garden implements and the like in a readily accessible position.

In the past, considerable trouble has been experienced in properly storing brooms and mops in the utility closets of homes, particularly so that they do not rest upon the floor and also trouble has been experienced with storing various garden tools such as hoes, rakes and the like so that they may be readily accessible and easily located when it is desired to utilize the implements.

Some attempt has been made to provide various sup-.

ports for holding these implements along a wall surface and the like, but it is found that these supports are usually complicated or take up too much room within the utility closet.

It is therefore a primary object of my present invention to provide a rotatable supporting means for the above mentioned implements so as to suspend these implements by their handles above the floor surface and in such a manner that by rotation of the supporting member, each article successively is made available and readily accessible for removal from the support.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a supporting rack or holder of the above character which may be attached to the under surface of shelves and the like and, in particular, a lower shelf and other horizontally positioned surfaces to conveniently support and position the implements for storage, quick removal and USE.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a novel supporting rack or holder of the above character which takes up relatively little space in the storage area but which nevertheless will support a relatively large number of implements.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a depending base member for my device which when attached to the under surface of any horizontal support is sufiiciently deep to space and support the novel rotating article supporting member from the horizontal sup port surface so that the elongated handles of the various implements can be quickly secured to the holder without contacting or being obstructed by the horizontal supporting surface.

Still another object of my invention is to provide my novel rotating supporting member, about its outer periphery, with spring type clips which'readily grip the round implement handles in a quick and efiicient manner and to further provide these clip members with means to prevent a smooth implement handle from accidentally slipping therefrom.

A still further object of my present invention is to provide means for rotatably securing the rotatable support member to the depending base member. so that there ice will be no tilting of the rotatable support member due to an uneven weight distribution and so that it nevertheless can be rotated quickly and easily to present the proper implement in position for quick removal.

A still further important objectof my invention is to provide a novel implement holder of the above character which will be durable and eflicient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture and one which can be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing which shows one prefer-red type of my invention, in the drawing:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view through my novel implement supporting device illustrating details in construction and showing it secured to a horizontal supporting surface;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 of the drawing, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating a top plan of the rotatable supporting memberand its supporting clips;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the novel means for rotatably connecting the rotatable supporting member with the depending supporting base;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertically detailed horizontal sectional view illustrating one form of attaching my novel spring clips to the rotatable supporting member, the view also illustrating an implement handle being inserted in the clip;

Figure 5 is a perspective view in top plan of my novel supporting washer which aids in distributing the weight load of the rotatable supporting member; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 but illustrating a modification in the implement holding clip and means for mounting the same to the rotatable supporting member.

made of any desired material and in any known manner,

such as by utilizing metal stampings, cast metal or the like. However, in the preferred form, I mold the same from a plastic material.

The base member 10 may, if desired, be made in any shape or form from sheet metal or plastic as illustrated bent or spun into the desired shape or from angle iron or the like, but as above stated, the base member is preferably molded into an inverted bell shape.

outwardly extending flat attaching flange 15. This flange is adapted to be placed against the horizontal supporting surface S by means of fastening elements such as screws- 16. The bottom wall 13 is provided with a centrallylocated aperture 17, the purpose of which willbe readily, apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein simi Thus the base member 10 includes a bottom Wall 13 and an. upwardly extending outwardly flared side Wall 14. The upper edge of the side wall 14 has formed thereon anv The lower rotatable supporting member 11 is also preferably molded from a desired type of plastic and the same includes a hollow substantially disc-shaped body. This body includes a topwall 1-8 having a flat central portion 19 and a downwardly flared outer portion 20. The flat central portion 19 is shaped to abut against the flat lower wall 13 of the upper member and the outer portion 20 of this wall 18 flares down wardly and outwardly away from the member 10. The wall 10 has formed on its outer edge a depending annular flange 21 which supports the spring clips 12 here inbefore referred to.

As also previously mentioned, the lower member 11 is rotatably carried by the upper member 10 and a special type of means is employed for uniting these two members so that tilting of the lower member 11 will be avoided. This means includes a disc-shaped supporting plate 22' having formed on its upper face a centrally disposed circular boss 23. The flat portion '19 of the wall 18 has formed centrally therein an enlarged opening 24 which receives the boss 23 and the rest of the plate ex tends beyond the boss and engages the lower surface of the wall 18, as best shown in Figure 3. A holding bolt 25 is passed centrally through the plate 22 and through the opening 17 in the upper member 10. A bearing washer 26 can be placed upon the bolt 25 in engagernent with the bottom wall 13 of the upper member 10. The bolt is preferably secured in place by a resilient lock nut 27 and this nut is threaded on the bolt tight down against the washer 26 but with suflicient play so as to allow the lower member 11 to freely rotate or turn upon the plate 22. The plate 22 is preferably formed from nylon so that a noiseless smooth bearing support will be had.

The spring clips 12 are equidistantly spaced around the periphery of the lower member 11 and each spring is of an inverted U-shape having an inner connecting bight portion 28 and resilient gripping legs 2?. The outer terminals of the legs 29 have formed thereon outwardly flared arms 30 defining an entrance mouth, whereby the handle H of an implement can be readily sprung into' its clip to be held by the legs 29. The spring clips 12' can be secured to the flange 21 in their proper spaced relation by rivets 31 or the like. In conjunction with the clips, I also prefer to use rubber bumper pads 32 and these pads can be secured in place by the rivets 31. The resilient bumper pads not only function to absorb shock incident to the placing of the handles of the implements in position but to also act as friction members to aid in preventing slipping of the handles in the clips.

Obviously other types of clips can be utilized other than those shown in detail in Figure 4 and in Figure 6, I have illustrated another type of spring clip. This spring clip is indicated by the reference character 33 and includes a bowed connecting bight portion 34 and inwardly diverging resilient legs 35. The outer ends of the legs have formed thereon oppositely extending arms 36 defining a flared entrance mouth leading into the clip for facilitating the insertion of an implement handle there- 1n. cushioning and gripping members 37. These members 37 act as friction pieces for firmly gripping an implement handle to prevent slipping thereof in the clip. A bolt 38 is utilized for connecting each clip with the flange 21 and as shown in Figure 6, the bolt is passed through the central portion of the bowed bight portion 34. By tightening the nut on the bolt, the bowed bight can be tensioned and this tends to bring the legs toward one another.

From the foregoing, it can be'seen that I have provided an extremely efficient holder for garden and household impleinents and that the device can be readily secured to any horizontal surface such as the bottom face of a covered shelf or the like.

The legs 35 have slipped thereon rubber or like The implements can be equally spaced one from the other and held in proper 4. position with their lower working terminals held above the ground or floor as the case may be. If an implement is needed, the lower supporting member 11 can be easily turned so as to bring the desired implement into view and into a position for easy reach by a person.

Various changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention but what I claim as new is:

1. A supporting rack and holder for household and garden implements of the type embodying an elongated handle comprising an upper base member, means at the upper end of the base member for securing the same to a horizontal surface and said base member having a lower flat surface provided with a central aperture, a lower disc-shaped base member having an outer depending flange and a centrally disposed flat surface in engagement with the flat surface of the upper member, a centrally disposed pivot member engaging and supporting the base and extending through the flat surface of the lower member and the aperture in the flat portion of the upper member uniting the lower member with the upper member for rotation in a horizontal plane, and a plurality of spaced spring clips carried by the flange of the lower member for detachably receiving and supporting handled implements.

2. A supporting rack and holder for handled implements as defined in claim 1 and said spring clips being provided with combined bumper and friction members for engaging handles inserted in the clips to prevent slipping thereof.

3.- A rack or supporting holder for handled implement comprising an upper base member, means on the upper end of the base member for securing the same to a horizontal surface and a flat portion on the lower end of said member having a central aperture, and a lower disc-shaped supporting member having a central flat surface adapted to be placed in close proximity to the flat portion of the upper member, a depending annular flange formed on the outer surface of the lower member, a plurality of resilient spring clips secured to the flange for detachably receiving and holding the handles of implements, and means rotatably uniting the lower member with the upper member against tilting movement includes a disc-shaped supporting plate having an axially disposed boss, and said flat portion of the lower member having enlarged aperture receiving the boss with the other portion of said plate engaging the flat surface of the lower member, and a bolt passing axially through the plate, its boss and the aperture in the upper member, and means for holding the bolt in place, said lower member being rotatable on the plate and its boss.

4. A supporting rack and holder for handled implements comprising an inverted bell-shaped upper base member including a flat bottom wall, an outwardly flared side wall and a flange formed on the upper edge of the side wall, said flange constituting means whereby the base member can be secured to a horizontal surface, a lower disc-shaped supporting member including a top wall having a central flat portion and a downwardly flared outer portion, said outer portion having formed on its periphery an annular depending flange, the flat portion being positioned in close proximity to the lower flat wall of the upper member, means rotatably securing the lower member to the bottom wall of the upper member, a plurality of spring clips disposed in spaced relation around the flange of the lower member, and means securing the clips to the flange.

5. A supporting rack or holder for handled implements as defined in claim 4, and said spring clips being of a general U-shape in plan and each including resilient legs and a connecting bight portion, said legs having outwardlyflared arms on their outer terminals defining an entrance mouth into the clips, said means for securing the clips to the flange including fastening elements extending through the elipsand the flange, and rubber v by said fastening elements.

6. A supporting rack or holder for handled implements as defined in claim 4, and said slips being of a general U-shape in plan and each including inwardly directed resilient legs and a connecting bowed bight portion, said means for securing the clips to the flange including a bolt piece through the bight portion and the flange with a nut holding the bolt in position.

7. A supporting rack and holder for handled implements as defined in claim 6, and rubber bumper and friction members inserted over said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McPherson July 7, 1885 Mason Jan. 12, 1904 Harris Mar. 14, 1950 Vogel Feb. 20, 1951 Baldwin Nov. 15, 1955 

